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Space Jam
Space Jam is a film starring Michael Jordan, Wayne Knight, and the cast of the Looney Tunes. It was released theatrically by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment on November 15, 1996. The film is a fictional account of Jordan's retirement from the NBA, as an alternate story of Jordan's initial return to basketball, with him being inspired by Bugs Bunny and others. It also marks the debut of Lola Bunny, the Nerdlucks, the Monstars, and Mr. Swackhammer. Plot The film opens in 1973, with Michael Jordan practicing basketball shots late at night. His dad notices this and tells him to come inside. The young Michael then asks if he can get a couple more shots in. his father accepts and notices how good he is, he then lets him keep shooting until he misses. As Michael shots he discusses with his dad his plans for the future, to become a basketball player. As Michael dribbles the ball to the basket, he also notes that once he’s done with this he’ll play baseball, a sport that his dad loves. Twenty years later in 1993, professional basketball player Michael Jordan announces his retirement from the NBA to follow in his father's footsteps and turn to a career in baseball. Mr. Swackhammer, the proprietor of the extraterrestrial theme park Moron Mountain, is seeking new attractions for his failing park. He sends his minions, the Nerdlucks, to capture the Looney Tunes, who reside deep below the surface of the earth. The Looney Tunes challenge the Nerdlucks to a basketball game as revenge, since they are not very tall. To prepare for the game, the Nerdlucks return to earth and steal the talents of Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Charles Barkley, Muggsy Bogues, and Shawn Bradley by forcing their way into the players' bodies in the form of changing into a strange pink liquid to climb up their backs and into their brains to steal their talents from the inside. The Nerdlucks use their stolen talent to become the Monstars, gigantic creatures that the Looney Tunes are unable to defeat by themselves. To aid them, Bugs Bunny snatches Jordan from his recreational golf game and brings him to Looney Tune Land, by trying to convince him to take up the position of player-coach and train them for their game with the Monstars. Jordan is somewhat reluctant at first, as he wishes to focus on his baseball career, but he agrees after the Monstars squash him into the shape of a basketball and bounce him around like one, to the tunes delight. Jordan quickly finds his work is cut out for him, for none of the Looney Tunes knows just how to play basketball, except for newcomer Lola Bunny, to whom Bugs takes an immediate shine. Due to the NBA stars' loss of skills being misinterpreted as an epidemic and with doctors unable to diagnose it or the cause, HAZMAT teams close down NBA arenas all around America for the people's protection. To make things worse, the NBA commissioner calls the current basketball season off. Soon after, the game between the Tune Squad and the Monstars begins, but starts disastrously for the Tune Squad because the Looney Tunes are roughed up and are rapidly being whittled down by the brutal injurious playing style of the Monstars. Come halftime, the Monstars lead by an overwhelming score of 66-18. Bugs fills a sport bottle with water and pastes a label on it that reads, "Michael's Secret Stuff". Giving Jordan a knowing look, he manages to convince the team that a dose of "Michael's Secret Stuff" will give them the strength and dexterity they need to win. The Tune Squad eagerly gulp down the secret stuff, and mount a comeback, using crazy strategies and props to baffle the Monstars. As the game resumes, Mr. Swackhammer tells the Monstars to crush 'em, which they do, literally. By the climax of the game, only Jordan, Bugs, Lola, and Daffy are left standing leaving them short one player, after Stan is literally flattened by the Monstars. Bill Murray, being friends with the producer of the film, is able to enter the Looney Tunes' world and join their team, averting forfeiture. The Tune Squad are down by one, and it is up to Jordan to score the final point for his team. He makes a leap to the basket from half-court, but is snagged in mid-air by two Monstars. Supplemented by the unique power of toon physics in Looney Tune Land, Jordan manages to make the basket and win the game. Jordan stretches his arm towards the basket as his body is restrained. Jordan's arm grows almost 16 feet long, and using his extended arm, he drops the ball into the basket as time expires. With that, the Tune Squad wins the game and their freedom. Mr. Swackhammer berates the Monstars for losing, and orders them to get in their spaceship to return to Moron Mountain. Jordan asks them why they put up with Mr. Swackhammer and his bullying, and they reply that he's bigger than they used to be. At that moment, the Monstars finally realize that they are physically bigger than Mr. Swackhammer is, turn on him, strap him into a rocket, and shoot him into outer space as he lands on the moon. He convinces the Monstars that they are to give back the stolen talent, changing them back to the Nerdlucks, they have already decided to stay with the other Looney Tunes instead of returning to Moron Mountain. The aliens beg the Looney Tunes to let them stay in Looney Tune Land, Bugs agrees if they can prove that they're looney enough. Afterwards, the characters return Jordan back to earth in the Nerdlucks' spaceship, where he joins the barons at their home stadium, to the amazement of Jordan's family and fans. Jordan then find his still-talentless NBA friends mopeing around in a gym. Jordan takes the ultimate game's ball filled with the superstars' talent and tells them to touch it. They hesistate at first, but eventually do it and it returns the stolen talent back to their respective owners. He is later prompted by his rivals to return to the NBA, mirroring his real-life comeback. Cast of characters Michael Jordan as a fictional version of himself, a professional basketball player who retires from the NBA to pursue a career in baseball, which is what his father wanted him to do Bill Murray as himself, one of Michael Jordan's friends and a self-proclaimed friend of the producer of the film, which allows him to join the Looney Tunes when they are short one player Wayne Knight as Stan Podolak, a publicist who makes sure nobody bothers Michael Jordan Thom Barry as James Jordan, Michael Jordan's father Theresa Randle as Juanita Jordan, Michael Jordan's supportive wife Manner Washington as Jeffrey Jordan, Michael Jordan's oldest son Eric Gordon as Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan's youngest son Penny Bae Bridges as Jasmine Jordan, Michael Jordan's daughter Billy West provides the voices of: Bugs Bunny, a male rabbit who acts as the de facto leader of the Looney Tunes and plays on their basketball team. Elmer Fudd, a big-game hunter who seeks Bugs Bunny's demise. He plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Dee Bradley Baker provides the voices of: Daffy Duck, a greedy glory-hound duck and best friend of Bugs Bunny who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. The Tasmanian Devil, a ravenous and crazed marsupial who plays on the Looney Tunes' team. Toro, a bull that attacks the Monstar Pound during the game after Daffy painted his shorts red. Danny DeVito provides the voice of Mr. Swackhammer, the proprietor of the theme park "Moron Mountain", for which he seeks new attractions to save his failing business. He's also the film's main antagonist who later acts as the coach of the Monstars. Bob Bergen provides the voices of: Hubie and Bertie, a pair of mice who act as the commentators of the game. Marvin the Martian, an extraterrestrial who acts as the game's referee. Porky Pig, a pig who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Tweety Bird, a bird who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Bill Farmer provides the voices of: Sylvester, a cat who seeks to devour Tweety. He plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Yosemite Sam, a short-tempered and extremely grouchy western outlaw who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Foghorn Leghorn, a large kentucky-accented rooster who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. June Foray provides the voice of Granny, an elderly woman who acts as the cheerleader for the Looney Tunes' team. Kath Soucie provides the voice of Lola Bunny, a female rabbit who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Lola is a new character introduced in this film, who is also Bugs Bunny's love interest and later becomes his girlfriend. Maurice LaMarche provides the voice of Pepé Le Pew, a french-accented skunk who plays for the Looney Tunes' team. Frank Welker provides the voice for Charles, Michael's pet bulldog who menaces both Bugs and Daffy when they were in Michael's house. The voices of the Nerdlucks are provided by Jocelyn Blue (Pound), Charity James (Blanko), June Melby (Bang), Catherine Reitman (Bupkus) and Colleen Wainwright (Nawt) The voices of the Monstars are provided by Darnell Suttles (Pound), Steve Kehela (Blanko), Joey Camen (Bang), Dorian Harewood (Bupkus) and T.K. Carter (Nawt) Trivia The movie's original promotional website can still be found online, exactly as it appeared in 1996. Even though Space Jam is a Warner Bros. film that pokes some subtle jabs at Disney, it first aired its network and cable television premiere as part of ABC's Wonderful World Of Disney on November 14, 1999. This happens in the scene where Daffy Duck tells Bugs Bunny that they should name their basketball team with Jordan "The Ducks". Bugs replies with his potshot at WB rival Disney: "What kind of Mickey Mouse organization would call a team 'The Ducks'?" - a reference to Disney's The Mighty Ducks who were also a real team known as "The Mighty Ducks Of Anaheim". Unlike Saturday morning cartoon shows with only typical traditional cartoon-ish slapstick violence actions with no long lasting effects, this film features the addition of the mild language dialogue phrases: "stinks", "shut up", "we're getting screwed", "idiot", "suck," and "nice butt", that young kids may imitate, but their parents might not want them repeating. The film marks the debut of Lola Bunny, the Nerdlucks, the Monstars, and Mr. Swackhammer. The Tune Squad's jersey numbers: 1. Bugs Bunny, 2. Daffy Duck, 3. Sniffles, 6. Yosemite Sam, 8. Porky Pig, 9. Sylvester, 10. Lola Bunny, 13. Wile E. Coyote, 22. Bill Murray, 23. Michael Jordan, 25. Barnyard Dawg, 33. Foghorn Leghorn, 53. Elmer Fudd, a heart symbol for Pepe Le Pew, and a question mark for Beaky Buzzard. For many decades, Bugs Bunny and the other beloved Looney Tunes characters were animated in the traditional hand-drawn way on transparent animation celluloid sheets. In the film, they were required to move in fast-paced ways they never had before to play basketball, so the team of artists had to create three-dimensional models to help them visualize what these new movements would look like. In the film, the Nerdlucks and the Monstars are only referred to collectively as the Monstars. However, they do have monikers of their own, the orange one is Pound, the green one is Bang, the red one is Nawt, the purple one is Bupkus, and the blue one is Blanko, but none of their individual names are mentioned in the film and neither is the word "Nerdluck." The Monstars make a cameo in the Pinky and the Brain episode "Star Warners". In the "b-roll" footage taken from additional cameras on the set, Michael Jordan played basketball against a group of six or eight really good actors in green suits and face masks who are both shorter than he and less talented at the sport, so Jordan could play a scene normally with each of the little green men who would play a character by using a voice to play them in character. They never appeared in the film because they were digitally removed from the green screen and replaced by putting in animated cartoon characters. Basketball players were brought in to to stand on platforms and play the larger-than-life Monstars to help Jordan act properly when staring up at the massively intimidating animated creatures. The animators on set would do a computer printout of the acting and they would draw the characters in relationship to Jordan in the scene if the actors improvised a scene Even before animation began, voice artists were busily recording their dialogue. Rather than exclusively employing traditional voice-over actors, filmmaker Ivan Reitman sought a wide range of talented performers. In particular, actors with comedic and improvisational skills were cast to create energetic, funny characterizations that lived up to the standards set by the legendary Mel Blanc. Danny DeVito, who usually performs in front of the camera as an actor, or steps behind it as a producer-director, added another title to his repertoire when he took on the role of the bombastic and sadistic Mr. Swackhammer. He recorded his role early in the filming process and was soon followed by numerous voiceover specialists who appeared to supply the voices of the remaining characters. The character Stan makes this quote: "Come on, Michael, it's game time. Get your Hanes on, lace up your Nikes, grab your Wheaties and your Gatorade, and we'll pick up a Big Mac on the way to the Ball Park", humorizing Jordan's sports product brand endorsement. The plot of the film is used as the considered canon backstory to the freeware PC game Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden. The basketball in which Charles Barkley and the other players' talents were trapped is used as a plot device, Michael Jordan's past is mentioned several times, as are the Looney Tunes. The Monstars appear in the closing sequence, apparently evil once again. When Bill Murray arrives at the game near the end of the film to help Jordan and the Looney Tunes, he is mistaken for Dan Aykroyd by Mr. Swackhammer. The film sold a lot of merchandise, including: the soundtrack CD, a videogame for the PC, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn, a Lola Bunny Koosh ball, a line of action figures, and the McDonald's Happy Meal toys whose bases fit together if you have more than one and the characters also rotate around when you roll them across a table The soundtrack disc was packed with catchy R&B songs from a slew of top singers in that genre, who were some of the hottest artists of the day, including: R. Kelly, Seal, Coolio, Quad City DJs, and Salt-N-Pepa. They were invited to submit recordings for consideration, and after the songs were completed, Michael Jordan was asked to give his input to make the final selections for approving the songs that were ultimately included. Even though the GuruHub Squad liked Space Jam because of the catchy hip-hop soundtrack, they hated the movie itself with a passion because they believed it was riddled with so many unanswered questions, full of bad acting, jokes, and a weird over sexualization of a cartoon rabbit. Space Jam 2, a sequel to Space Jam, was planned as early as 1997. As development began, the follow-up film was going to involve a new basketball competition between the Looney Tunes and a new villain named Berserk-O! and his henchmen, O!-No and O!-Yes. However, since Michael Jordan did not agree to star in a sequel, Warner Bros. eventually cancelled plans for Space Jam 2 in favor of Looney Tunes: Back In Action. The official teaser poster for Space Jam 2 features LeBron James, Bugs Bunny, and Lola Bunny. Interestingly, however, Lola receives higher billing than Bugs, which means that the movie might try to be pushing Lola into the spotlight and give her a more substantial role. But despite the title, the new Space Jam movie is being positioned as a reboot, rather than a sequel/followup to the 1996 original classic basketball film, and since this new film is freed from the continuity of the original, it will be interesting to see what differences there are between the two versions. It is unknown if it will use any of the ideas from the cancelled sequel. According to the "Space Jam 2 cast members and voice cast members" list on the Internet Movie Database, Bob Costanza will voice Cyber-Swackhammer, who may be an upgraded version of the Danny De Vito-voiced villain from the first film, will look unkempt with dead eyes and be sitting in a moon prison staffed entirely by a Nerdluck staff. He hasn't talked since the Monstars blasted him off to the moon, and would sit alone most days watching sports highlights in the prison media room, and may be watching the LeBron James news. This would awaken something in him, as he then would begin switching furiously between sports channels. This same list also implies that there will also be new Nerdlucks, who are female. And they will be joining the male Nerdlucks from the original film, however, it is unknown how each of these new Nerdlucks are related to the classic ones. The voice cast for the new Nerdlucks and the new Monstars are: Jennifer Hale as Nerdluck Bliz Tara Strong as Nerdluck Rage Cree Summer as Nerdluck Slam Grey Griffin as Nerdluck Wow Kath Soucie as Nerdluck Pierce Iggy Azalea as Monstar Bliz Ashanti as Monstar Rage Beyoncé Knowles as Monstar Slam Rihanna as Monstar Wow Lil' Kim as Monstar Pierce Category:Movies